The use of catheters in medical procedures has become routine for the treatment of a multitude of ailments. Catheters have a variety of shapes and sizes, but generally include an elongated body that can be from several inches to several feet long, and a distal end which may be shaped as required to carry out the specific procedure for which the catheter is designed. The diameter of a catheter is typically much smaller than its length, such that the device has a generally cable-like appearance and structural properties. Catheters are often constructed with one or more lumens therein, which in general extend through most or all of the length of the catheter. These lumens may be employed to serve various functions at the catheter distal end including irrigation, providing suction, introducing medical instruments thereto, etc. The distal end may have a complex curvature, adapted to specific geometry of a target area in the body to facilitate reaching the target location or to facilitate carrying out the procedure.
When catheters are shipped, the packaging used is designed to carry out multiple functions. Since the catheter is hollow, the packaging has to protect the catheter from being crushed, and also from kinks which may be caused by bending the catheter's tubular body over too small a diameter. In particular, distal ends of catheters must be sufficiently protected from deformation, that the degree of care which must be exercised to ensure that the catheter arrives in condition for use is not excessive. The packaging often includes a tubular portion which contains the catheter's tubular body, while protecting it from bending and crushing. In many cases the tubular portion of the packaging is coiled to form a hoop, so that the elongated portion of the catheter may be packaged in a relatively small area. Coiling the protective hoop which contains the catheter simplifies the handling of the packaged catheter, since it is easier to process a package that is substantially round or square than it is to process a long, thin package shaped like a cable or tube.
Difficulties may also arise when removing the catheter from its protective package—particularly when the package is coiled in a hoop to make better use of the space available. Adhesion between the outer surface of the catheter and the inner surface of the protective tubular body may create a large amount of friction between the two surfaces, such that it is difficult to slide the catheter out of its protective packaging. In particular, when the catheter is not straight but has portions that are curved along specified shapes, separating the packaging from the device without damaging the catheter can be especially challenging. One solution is to hydrate the catheter, for example by injecting a water based solution or some other lubricant between the catheter and the packaging. However, this step may be complicated, since it is difficult to provide the fluid uniformly along the length of the entire catheter.